Candles produce both necessary and pleasurable effects. The light can be used to illuminate rooms. As importantly, the quality of the light produces a more tranquil effect than overhead fluorescent bulbs and even incandescent bulbs. The flicker and warm glow of a candle has a soothing effect. To enhance the soothing effect, some prior art candles have incorporated a music storage device which is enabled upon the lighting of the candle.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,015,175 to Lee discloses a birthday candle that has a thermoresponsive member adjacent to the wick. When the candle is lit, the heat from the candle creates a voltage in the thermoresponsive member. The voltage drives a circuit having a memory. The memory can store a birthday tune. Therefore, when the candle is lit, the birthday tune is played. However, the Lee design has been shown to be unreliable. The heat from the flame is not constant, and if a breeze pushes the flame away from the thermoresponsive member, the tune will stop.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,477,249 to Ruzek et al. discloses a candle that includes an optical fiber adjacent to the candle's wick. The optical fiber runs through the body of the candle and is connected to an electrical circuit. When the candle is lit, its light is channeled through the optical fiber and closes an optical switch. When the switch is closed, the circuit is completed and a semiconductor storage device is activated. A musical tune is stored on the storage device. The tune is played on a speaker. The optical fiber is melted away with the burning of the wick.
The Ruzek design suffers from the difficulty that it is easily triggered by ambient light in the room. In other words, if any light is on in the same room as the candle, then the music is played. Likewise, natural sunlight can trigger the candle. Further, the electronics assembly is nested in the base of the candle, increasing the cost of producing the candle. Further, both the wick and the optical fiber must be suspended in the wax during the formation of the candle. If the spacing between the two diverges, the optical fiber may not be properly spaced for connection to the electrical circuit.
A need exists for a candle that can play a musical tune when lit, that is both reliable and cost effective. The candle should incorporate an electronic circuit that can be turned off even when the candle is lit. The volume of the song should be controllable. Further, the tune should stop when the candle is extinguished. In other words, ambient light should not trigger the circuit.